Sunday, May 12, 2013

No. 10/9 WLAX's historic season ends in NCAA Second Round

College Park, Md. -- The winningest season in program history ended Sunday when the No. 10/9 Stony Brook women's lacrosse team fell to top-seeded, No. 1/1 Maryland, 11-3, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Stony Brook's 17 victories are the most-ever for the program, and the squad won its first America East Championship and first-ever NCAA Tournament game when it downed Towson, 8-6, Friday night. Its top 10 national ranking marked was another first for the program that won just four games two seasons ago.

Brooke Griffin netted four goals for Maryland (20-0).

Coach's Reaction"This was a tremendous year for our team. They worked hard. This was a building block and an enormous season for us. We had a lot of naysayers, and we took that to heart and persevered. Our seniors set the bar high and are very special to me. We are here to stay."

Turning PointPetersen found Mercier in front for an early goal that gave Stony Brook a 1-0 lead at 23:39. Katie Schwarzman knotted it at 1-1 on a free position shot with 13:25 remaining in the frame.

Alex Aust and Brooke Griffin netted a pair of free position shots to push the lead to 4-1 with 4:02 left in the first half.

The Terps never trailed again en route to their 20th win of the season.

By the Numbers • Sophomore Michelle Rubino tallied three draw controls, while Cook had two. • Amber Kupres, a sophomore midfielder, posted team-highs in ground balls and caused turnovers with three of each. • Maryland outshot Stony Brook 22-16 and held a slight 9-6 edge on draw controls.

News and Notes • This marked the final game for seniors Cook, Kaitlyn Harrison, Janine Hillier, Justyne Passarelli,Hannah Perruccio, Petersen and Melissa Rotante. Each senior was instrumental in turning Stony Brook from a four-win team in 2011 into a top 10, America East Championship program in 2013. • The Seawolves broke single-season team records for wins (17), conference wins (6), draw controls (260), goals (298), points (412), consecutive home wins (7) and consecutive road wins (6). Additionally, they bested the single-game records for fewest goals allowed (2) and posted its longest win streak (12). • Stony Brook will have several key returners next season, including a pair of 30-goal scorers in sophomore midfielders Kupres and Rubino. Caridi and starting freshman defenders Maegan Meritz andAlyssa Fleming, who were pivotal in SBU's top-ranked scoring defense this season, will also be back on the field next year. • SBU's only losses were to top five opponents in Maryland and Florida. • Cook finishes her incredible two-year career at Stony Brook with 158 goals, the most all-time at SBU. She also tallied 157 draw controls and 173 points, which third and fifth on SBU's all-time ledger, respectively. • Cook's 90 goals are a single-season record, which shatters her own previous mark of 68 that she set last season. Her 96 draw controls are also a single-season school record, while the 96 points she posted are second all-time in SBU single-season history. • Petersen, who played the final four games of her Stony Brook career with a torn ACL and partially torn meniscus, concludes her time in Seawolves Country with 174 points, the fourth-most all-time. She broke a single-game NCAA record when she tallied 11 helpers against Longwood and is one of only two Seawolves to reach the 100-assist plateau as she dished out 105 during her two seasons at SBU. • Petersen recorded 73 points on 27 goals and 46 assists. Her 46 helpers are second most all-time for a Seawolf in a single-season behind the 59 she tallied last season. Petersen tallied 11 points in her four-game postseason return despite suffering what is typically a season-ending injury. • Hillier wraps up her time at SBU with 96 goals, the sixth-most all-time. The 143 points she registered rank seventh on Stony Brook's career list. • Rotante has played in 66 games, the most on the team. She joins Perruccio, Harrison and Passarelli as the four four-year members of the SBU women's lacrosse team.